Quilting-machine.



Patented Mar-5,1912.

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QUILTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1901.

Patented Mar. 5; 1912.

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QUILTING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 16, 1901.

, Patented Mar.5 1912.

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v QUILTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1901.

Patented 1111 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORRELL ASHTON, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, 013 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

QUILTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Application filed May 16, 1301. Serial No. 60,529.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Onnnu. Asn'rox, a

.citizen of the United States, residing at support having a throatthrough which a feeding device operates, said feeding device engagingthe work lying on said work support and feeding the work for thedlstance desired between adjacentfastenings. The work support and thefeeding device, herein represented as a wheel, are yieldingly sustainedthat they may rise and fall together to enable the machine to act onstock of any thickness. The work support is represented as attached tothe upper end of a rod normally sustained by a spring which exertssufficient tension to support the material, but not enough to interferewith the feeding of the stock. The rod sustaining the work support hascombined with it auxilliary pressure means including a stronger springand a lever which, just prior to each action of the driver and theinsertion of a fastening, acts through the stronger spring to sustainthe work support substantially rigidly while the fastening is beinginserted. In case it should be desired to do what vis called monogramquilting, the automatic feeding of the stock is preferably suspended bytemporarily closing the feed opening of the work support, and at thistime a nut on the rod sustaining the work support is adjusted into suchposition that it may be struck at each operation of the machine by adevice such, for example, as a lever which partially releases the stockleaving it free to be moved by hand between the insertion of successivefastenings.

Figure 1 in elevation represents a part of the right hand side of amachine embodying my invention. Fig. 1 is a detail showing the feedwheel in section and applied to the feed actuating shaft. Fig. 2 is asimilar view of the lower part of the machine represented in Fig. 1,Figs. 1 and 2 together making a complete right hand side elevation. Fig.3 is a detail looking at Fig. 2 from the left, said figure showing thetreadles. Fig. 4 is a detail looking at the part of the machine shown inFig. 2 from the right hand side. Fig. 5 is a front view looking at themachine shown in Fig. 1 from the left. Fig. 6 is a rear view of themachine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 shows the head detached from the neck orframe used to support it. Fig. 8 is a section in the line 50 Fig. 1.Fig. 9 is a section in the line 00 Fig. 8. Fig. 10 shows the face of thework support when a feeding device is to be used. Fig. 11 shows thecover for the work support employed in monogram work.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a column to stand on the floor,and A a neck secured to the column and provided with bearings for thedifferent operative parts of the machine to be described. The neckpresents an overhanging arm A and an extended tubular arm A The arm A isprovided at its front end with ears A which constitute a seat for thehead A, shown detached in Fig. 7, said head constituting a guide for adriver bar a provided at its lower end with a driver a and at its upperend with a block a free to be slid between vertical walls a of saidhead, said block receiving a screw stud a carried by a link a, said studreceiving upon its outside said block a nut a The linka is connected atits lower end to a crank pin a of a disk (6 attached to the shaft A therotation of which shaft actuates the driver bar positively in bothdirections.

The machine herein illustrated has two wheels 2, f to feed a wirethrough a guideway, f which wire is cut off at proper times for theformation of fastenings, the fastenings being thereafter placed in linewith the driver to be driven into the stock.

The head A has a boss n,see'Fig.7, which receives, see dotted lines Fig.1, and in section in Fig. 8, a rocking stud n having at its outer end apawl carrier a and to which is connected a pawl 11 adapted to engage aratchet .fflfimd to the feed-wheel 2. At its inner end said stud has anarm 02 provided with a suitable rolleror other stud n which is normallykept pressed by a suitable spring 11, toward a cam 71 carried by theshaft A The rocker arm n is provided with a feed regulator 11, shown inFig. 8 as a screw which is adjust-able to contact sooner or later withthe shoulder a forming part of the arm A to limit the extent of movementof the wire feeding mechanism.

The neck contains a bearing 9 pivoted at p for a shaft 2 hereinrepresented as provided at its forward end with a stock feed ing deviceshown as a wheel 79 presenting two sets of teeth p with a groove 32*between them, see Fig. 1 the object of the groove being to receive thepoint of each fastening as the same is driven if the length of thefastening should exceed the thickness of the stock, or in case onefastening should be driven on another. The shaft 79 is sustained at itsforward end back of said feed wheel in a movable bearing 7), see Figs. 1and 8, said bearing having flat sides and being fitted to slide up anddown and also longitudinally of a guideway 39 formed in the tubular armA This bearing has extended from its end a curved flange 30 forming partof a case to be described, the other part of the case, see Fig. 5, beingmarked 2 and being connected with the portion 30 by screws 31. The upperportion p of the case constitutes a work support, said portion beingslotted at its upper side, see Fig. 10, to enable the teeth of the feedwheel p to project therethrough to engage the stock and feed the sameover the work support. The portion ,1) has a hole 30 through which thedriver may be inserted or withdrawn as will bedescribed. The inner endof the bearing 10' surrounds a reduced part of the shaft p and abuts ashoulder of said shaft, see dotted lines Fig. 1. Just beyond the outerend of the bearing 79* the shaft is again reduced, see Fig. 1*, at y)and threaded, and the feed wheel 39 is screwed onto the threaded end ofthe shaft. The outer hub of the feed wheel is faced or made hexagonal,as rep resented in Fig. 5, that it may be engaged by a wrench or otherdevice by which to screw the feed wheel firmly onto the shaft, and saidhub is provided with a hole 79 Normally the hole 30* in the part 79 ofthe case and the hole p in the hub of the feed wheel occupy a positionat one side of the line of movement of the driver, but whenever it isdesired to remove the driver from the driver bar or to insert a driverin said driver bar, the workman will slide the bearing 79 to the right,viewing Fig. 1, taking with it the shaft, the feed wheel, and the worksupport, thus placing the holes 30* and 72 vertically in line with thedriver, and thereafter the driver may be disconnected from the driverbar and drawn out through said holes. To provide for moving the bearingp and the shaft 1) as stated,

-said bearing is provided at one side with a groove Z03, in which ismounted a loose block w, see Fig. 8, having a hole that is entered by aneccentric stud 10 at the end of a rotating shaft w. Said shaft w has twoflat surfaces w, see Fig. 9, which are adapted to be engaged by aplunger 10, yieldingly sustained by a spring w supported on an adjustingscrew 40. The shaft 10 has a handle 10 for imparting a rotary movementthereto when it is desired to move the bearing 72* and is also providedwith an annular groove that is entered by a washer w which holds theshaft in place, said washer being. held in position by a screw w, asshown in Fig. 9.

The bearing 72* in which the work support is sustained receives thethreaded end of a rod 9, see Figs. 1, 2 and 5, extended loosely throughan enlarged hole in a part 79 proj ecting from the column A. The rod 10has applied to it below the projecting part 22 a collar which is held inadjusted position thereon by a clamp screw [9 the adjustment of saidcollar limiting the upward movement of the work support and feed wheeltoward the foot plate 0 to thus prevent the contact of the points of thefeed wheel with the underside of said foot plate. The rod 7) has screwedupon it a second adjust-able collar 79 which is retained in adjustedposition by a set screw p The upper end of a spring 72 sustained by awasher 79 resting upon a slotted ear [9 extended from the column A. actson the underside of the collar p and serves normally to keep the worksupport and the feed device pressed upwardly with sufiicient tension toenable said feed device to engage the stock with a force sufficient tomove it over the work support and between said work support and theunderside of the foot plate when the feed device is rotated. The rod 7)has clamped upon it below the ear 7)" a third collar 79 said collarbeing adjustable on said rod by means of a screw 2 The collar 72 isacted upon at its lower side by a strong spring p the lower end ofwhich, see Fig. 2, rests on a collar 12 having a dependent lug p whichenters a notch between two ears 11 at the end of a lever 79 pivoted on astud p sustained in the column A, said collar having depressions 42which are entered by the rounded portions of said ears 411. Said leverhas jointed to it at its opposite end a link 39 which is extendedupwardly, see Figs. 1 and 2, and connected with a stud 79 of a rockingarm 72* mounted upon a stud 79 see Figs. 1 and 6, said arm havingextended from it a stud p which is embraced loosely by the lower end ofa link 79 having at its upper end a strap 79 surrounding an eccentric 39see dotted lines Fig. .6 fast on the shaft A said eccentric through themeans described imparting to the lever 72 a continuous uniform strokethroughout the operation of the machine. The operation of the eccentricp is so timed as to raise the outer end of the lever 10, that it, actingthrough the collar 10 and spring 72 may put additional pressure on thework support just as and while a fastening is being driven into thework, at which time the work should be clamped. \Vhen the machine isstopped, the eccentric occupies a-position to place the outer end oflever p in its lowest position, at which time only the spring p acts tolift the rod 11 and work-support, and at this time the operator todepress the work-support for the removal or insertion of work has onlyto overcome the pressure of the single, spring The lower end of rod 19is jointed by a screw 12 see Figs. 2 and 3, with a foot treadle p.fulcrumed on a long stud 79, mounted in a bearing 19 connected with thefoot of the column, the outer end of said lever having a right angledproject-ion 100, see Figs. 2 and 3, the depression of the free end ofsaid treadle lowering the work support and feeding device whenever it isdesired to remove and apply stock. A yokeshaped foot treadle 7" is alsomounted upon stud 29 said foot treadle having an extended arm 1" towhich is connected a spiral'spring T the opposite end of said springbeing connected with a projection r extended from the column, anotherarm r of said treadle,

see Fig. at, having jointed to it at 1' the lower end of a rod 7. Theupper end of the rod 9 carries a wedge block 0" which controls in usualmanner the engagement and disengagement of the clutch pulleys r and 1 tostop or start the shaft A which carries a pulley 1" that is driven bythebelt 7' surrounding pulley T The shaft 792 is provided with a ratchetwheel I, which is engaged and moved step by step by a pawl t preferablyadjustably mounted, see Fig. 6, in the end of arm t eccentricallyconnected by a screw t with the end of the shaft A said pawl beingreciprocated during each rotation of said shaft. This pawl t isconnected with the arm 25 by a suitable set screw W, a suitable detent 6controlled by a'spring 25 acting to prevent retrograde movement of saidshaft and its feed wheel.

In the operation of the machine described the stock or work is fed overthe work support by the feed wheel, while the front end of the lever 72is depressed or occupies a position to relieve the spring 79 from thepressure of said lever, said spring acting it will be understood on thecollar 79, and.

while the stock is being fed only the lighter spring 0 exerts pressurejust sufiicient to enable the feeding device to properly engage and movethe work or stock over the work support. Then a fastening is beinginserted the work support needs to be held up more firmly to resist thethrust of the driver, and at such time the lever is moved to act on thecollar 79 and compress the strong spring I prefer to employ a rotatablefeed wheel for feeding the stock, yet it will be understood that myinvention would not be departed from should I substitute for said feedwheel any other well known equivalent feeding device.

In case it is desired to quilt a monogram, for which work the movementof the stock is so varied that it could not be well handled by thefeeding device working automatically, I intend to remove the part 29 ofthe case and substitute for it a cover plate a, see Fig. 11, of the sameshape but without the feed opening shown in the plate of Fig. 10. Thiscover presents a smooth surface upon which the under face of the stockrests, and the feed device is prevented from engagement with the stock.When the action of the feeding device is to be suspended for monogramwork, I rotate the collar 66, see Fig. 2, on the threaded part of therod 72 below the lever 79 and raise said collar on said rod, putting thecollar in such position that the left hand end of the lever 72 in thelast part of each downward stroke will meet said collar and actautomatically to depress the rod 39 and the work support sufficiently torelease the work that the operator holding the same in his hand may movethe workfreely in any direction.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for inserting fastenings, a work support having afeeding'device to engage and move the work over the work support, a rodcooperating with said work support, a spring acting constantly tosustain said work support, a stronger spring cooperating with said rod,and a device for compressing the stronger spring and moving said rod toclamp the stock while a fastening is beinginserted.

2. In a machine provided with a foot plate to bear on the stock, thecombination with a work support having a feeding device to engage andfeed the work over said support, of a rod connected with'said worksupport, a spring to raise the rod and work support, and an adjustablecollar on the rod to limit the extent of movement of the work supporttoward the foot plate.

In a machine for insertingfastenings, the combination with a worksupport having a feeding'device, of a spring to sustain said worksupport, a stop to limit the upward movement of said work support,another spring acting to press said work support upwardly to clamp thestock While a fastening is being inserted, and means to depress saidwork support automatically after the fastening inserting operation thatthe work may be fed over the work support by hand when doing monogramquilting.

4. In a machine of the class described, a work support, a shaft extendedtherethrough and provided with a feed wheel to engage the face of andfeed the work over said support, means acting normally to press the worksupport and feed wheel upwardly, and means to increase the force of saidupward pressure while a fastening is being driven.

5. In a machine of the class described, a vertically movable worksupport, means car ried by the work support for feeding the workthereover, said means being movable with the work support, and means foreffecting the vertical movement of ,said work support.

6. In a machine of the class described, a work support, a spring tosustain the same, feeding means carried by said work support to engagethe face ofand feed the work thereover, and a stop to limit the upwardmovement of the work support and feeding means.

' 7. In a machine of the class described, a vertically movable worksupport, means carried by said work support for feeding the workthereover, said feeding means being movable with the work support, andmeans for moving said work support together with the feeding meanstransversely to the path of its verticalmovement.

8.In a machine of the class described, a work support provided with aslot, means for yieldingly sustaining the work support, a block mountedin said slot, and a shaft having an eccentric stud that enters anopening in said block, the rotation of the eccentric stud producing asliding movement of the work support longitudinally of the main shaft ofthe machine.

9. In a machine of the class described, a work support, a shaft therein,a feed wheel connected with said shaft, a bearing in the work supportfor said shaft, a shaft having an eccentric stud cooperating with saidbearing to slide it and the feed wheel shaft longitudinally of the mainshaft of the machine, said stud shaft having flattened portions, and aretaining device co-acting with said flattened portions to retain saidstud shaft and the work support in oneor the other of its extremepositions.

10. In a machine of the class described, a work support having adetachable work receiving member, a feeding device to feed the work oversaid support, and means to press the work support and feeding deviceupwardly.

11. In a machine of the class described, a Vertically movable worksupport constructed to constitute a case, a toothed. feeding device insaid case to feed the work over said work support, a detachable platehaving openings to allow the teeth of the feeding device to projecttherethrough, and actuating,

means for said toothed feeding device.

12. In a machine of the class described comprising a driver bar and aconnected driver, a work support having a hole which in the operation ofthe machine is out of line with the driver, means to move said worksupport when the machine is stopped to place the hole in the worksupport in line with the driver that the latter may be withdrawn fromthe driver bar or a new driver to be inserted in the bar through saidhole.

13. In a machine of the class described comprisinga .driver barand adriver, a work support having a hole out of line with the driver whenthe machine is in operation, a feed device provided with a hub having ahole in line with the hole in the work support, means to move the worksupport and feed device to bring the holes therein in the line ofmovement of the driver that a driver may be detached from the driver barand removed through said holes or a driver be inserted through saidholes into the driver bar.

14. In a machine for inserting fastenings comprising a stationary footplate, a shaft mounted in a pivoted bearing, means to rotate said shaft,a work support on said shaft at a distance from said pivoted bearing, afeed wheel carried by said shaft, and means to press said work supportand feed. wheel upwardly against the stock with a pressure sufficient tohold the stock against the foot plate while being fed, and means toincrease the upward pressure of the work support 011 the stock while afastening is being inserted.

15. In a machine of the class described, a vertically movable worksupport, feeding means carried by said work support and arranged toengage and move the work over the work support, yielding means actingcontinuously to maintain said work support in such relation to the workthat the feeding means can act thereon, and means acting momentarily tobring a stronger pres ure to bear upon the work support and work whenthe machine is acting upon the work.

16. In a machine of the class described comprising a foot plate, a worksupport, and feeding mechanism for feeding the work over the worksupport arranged to bear upon the work in the line of movement of thework support, a light spring acting continuously to press the worksupport toward the foot plate with a pressure sufficient to insure thefeeding of the work by the feeding mechanism, additional means toincrease the force of the pressure of the work support against the workwhile the fastening is being driven, and a foottreadle connected to thework support and adapted to lower the same, the parts being so timedthat the machine stops only after its operation has been completed andwith only the pressure of the light spring upon the Work.

17 In a machine of the class described, a work support, feedingmechanism for feeding the work thereover, a rod connected thereto, afoot t-readle connected to the rod, a light spring continuously actingagainst said rod to hold the work support in contact with the work witha light pressure, a collar fast to the rod, a second, strong springsurrounding the rod and engaging the collar, a second collar loose onthe rod, and a cam-controlled lever acting on said loose collar tomomentarily apply strong pressure to said second spring and said rodwhile a fastening is being driven.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ORRELL ASHTON.

l Vitnesses GEO. W. GREGORY, EDITH M. STODDARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

